Wednesday, March 30, 2016

The House Tha Dirt Built

This post will feature a band that up until a few years back didn't really peak my interest. I didn't know too much about them, just that they had a song used in a Kia commercial. It took an off chance seeing them Live to actually get into the band.

The Heavy hail from Bath England. Yes there's a town called Bath. Jokes aside, The Heavy are a British Inidie Rock band that combine Indie with an upbeat approach to Rock. Look no further than their second album. 'The House That Dirt Built'. Founded in 07, the band has had a steady following since their early days. Releasing four albums to date, the band continues to release their high energy brand of Indie Rock to the masses. For this post we will focus on 'The House That Dirt Built'. Released in '09, the album may be better known for the single, "How You Like Me Now?" which has been featured in numerous commercials and shows. "Short Change Hero" can be heard in various movies and video games as well. The album s far from dull boring Brit Indie Rock. The album from start to end is uptempo complete with dirty garage rock and horns that make you wanna move.

It was a chance night that I got to see The Heavy Live in a little club here in STL called The Old Rock House. Pretty cool intimate venue nestled on the outskirts of downtown. My roommate at the time had wanted to go the gig. I was mulling about that day not really wanting to venture out or do much of anything. After a bit of discussion we were out the door and headed towards the venue. Not sure on what exactly to expect from an Indie Band, feeling a bit close minded that night perhaps. What ensued was a high energy rock show for the next hour. By the end of the gig I was a fan. Proof that going to Live gigs holds the unexpected.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Garbage

Time to head back to the 90's with a band that sort of came out of nowhere and had some decent success during the Alt movement of the 90's. Garbage is a band that hails from the Madison Wisconsin or all places and among it's ranks features a noted producer in Butch Vig and a Scottish frontwoman in Shirley Manson. Vig is perhaps most known for his work on the 'Nevermind' record from Nirvana. Manson perhaps best known for her work with the band Angelfish. The band has been around since the mid 90's and is back in the studio for work on another album. For this post we'll go back to the beginning with their self titled debut 'Garbage'.

The band sound is really hard to pin down. At best it's a mix of Alt Rock/Trip Hop/Techno/Shoe Gaze. While the guitars and all are present the band does rely on samples as well. Case in point on "Stupid Girl", The Clash's "Train In Vain" is sampled. For what it's worth Garbage really came out of nowhere. The lead single overseas was intended as a non album track. "Vow" did make the cut in the end however, but for stateside purposes, "Queer" ended up as the first single. By the time the video hit MTV, Manson became a video vixen. Don't believe me, look no further than the follow up single and video "Only Happy When It Rains". Garbage got big real quick and followed up the self titled release with 'Version 2.0', but success wouldn't last too much longer. Despite doing the theme for the Bond movie 'The World Is Not Enough', the band seemed to quickly fall by the wayside. Garbage however still remains one of those bands where if you bring up their name today, everyone remembers that first record.